NASSAU -- Gov. David Paterson's plan to pull the state out of the federal Superfund pollution cleanup program drew fire Saturday from residents here who want solutions to the longtime Dewey Loeffel PCB toxic dump.

"The governor's statement on Superfund was an incredible affront to the residents of Nassau and Rensselaer County," said Town Supervisor David Fleming, who spoke at a luncheon to mark the 10th anniversary of the grass-roots group Uncaged, which has been pushing for a cleanup.

Last spring, the federal Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to add the dump, which has been leaking PCBs into nearby water for at least three decades, to the federal program. That is expected to happen sometime this spring.

The 16-acre unlined dump, which is about four miles northeast of the village of Nassau, has been under the state Superfund pollution program run by DEC since 1980.

Millions of dollars have been spent so far, but the cleanup has proved too pervasive for DEC to finish, and toxic leaks continue into Valatie Kill Creek and Nassau Lake. Pollution has leaked into nearby wetlands. PCB-tainted fish from the two bodies of water have been listed by the state as unsafe to eat since 1980.

"We are at a significant crossroads on this dump project, which has been botched by the state from the beginning," said Fleming. "I am deeply concerned about the governor's statement.

Kelly Travers-Maim, head of Uncaged, echoed Fleming as she shook her head in disgust. "I don't know how the state can turn their head to the air that we need, the water that we need, the things that we all need to survive."

Officials at the state Department of Environmental Conservation have not been clear as to exactly how the state proposes to withdraw from the 30-year federal program.

However, Fleming's office received an e-mail from a DEC official who said the EPA is not expected to add Dewey Loeffel to Superfund until March, so the state will continue to be involved at least until that point, according to a copy obtained by the Times Union.

From 1952 until 1968, the dump legally disposed of more than 46,000 tons of PCBs, oils and solvents.

GE does not want EPA to step in, out of concern that the company, which believes it was absolved of liability for environmental damages by the state under a 1980 cleanup agreement, might face new bills if EPA is in charge. GE has filed a lengthy document with EPA outlining why the site should not be covered by Superfund.